1. Field of the Technology
The present invention relates to information processing apparatuses configured to transmit and receive data via file memories among a plurality of control sections and to file controllers that control the access to file memories.
2. Description of the Related Art
The facsimile apparatus in recent years are configured by separating the apparatus into a main body control section and a facsimile control section from the point of view of reducing the power consumption, and during the standby state, the main body control section that is not related to incoming call detection, etc., is switched to the power saving mode.
In such a facsimile apparatus, when there is an incoming call in the normal state when both the main body control section and the facsimile control section are operating, as is shown in FIG. 12, an incoming detection 303 is posted to the main body control section 302 from the facsimile control section 301 at the instant when the ringing signal sent from the telephone exchange side is detected for a set number times (for example, two times). Upon receiving this notification, the main body control section 302, if the apparatus is in a state of being able to carry out facsimile reception with no problems such as paper tray empty or memory full, etc., immediately starts the reception process 304, and sends an off-hook request (enable reception) 305 to the facsimile control section 301. Upon receiving this request, the facsimile control section 301 completes the DC loop and starts the facsimile reception operation. Therefore, if an external telephone instrument has been connected to the facsimile apparatus, it stops ringing after the set number of times of ringing, and immediately thereafter the facsimile receiving operation is started.
On the other hand, as is shown in FIG. 13, if an incoming call arrives when the main body control section 302 is in the power saving mode, with that arrival of an incoming call the main body control section 302 starts the recovery operation 306 from the power saving mode, and after the preparations for reception are completed an off-hook request (enable reception) 305 is sent to the facsimile control section 301. Therefore, if a long time (for example 30 seconds) is required until the main body control section 302 recovers from the power saving mode and until the preparations for reception are completed, there was the problem that the external telephone continues to ring more than the set number of times giving a baffling impression to the user and disturbing the peace in the working environment unnecessarily.
Although the above problem can be solved if the facsimile control section can independently start the reception operation even when the main body control section has entered the power saving mode, the data received by the facsimile control section operating independently will in anyway have to be handed over to the main body control section after it recovers from the power saving mode.
A typical method of exchanging data among a plurality of control sections is that of using a common memory. For example, there is a technique of connecting a common memory under a memory controller connected between two processors and of adjusting the contention for access to that common memory from the two processors using a memory controller (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
Patent Document 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2000-3302
Since a memory controller of the above type only adjusts the access contention, it is necessary to exchange between control sections the control information related to the status of available area within the common memory or that related to the address and the type of data stored by the other control section, and hence the interface between control sections had become complex.
In particular, under conditions such as the main body control section being in the power saving mode when one of the control sections has stopped operating, since it is not possible to exchange control information between control sections in real time, it is necessary to carry out the processing so as to exchange control information before one control section stops operating or after it has recovered from the halted state, and hence the interface between control sections becomes even more complex.
Further, as another method of exchanging data among a plurality of control sections, it is possible to consider the method of providing in each control section a memory that can be used even when the other control sections has stopped operating, and transferring data between the memories according to the need. However, the facsimile apparatuses or multi-functional apparatus in recent years carry out management of image data using a file system under the OS (operating system). Therefore, if a separate file system is provided in the main body control section and in the facsimile control section, the processing of transferring the received data stored during stand-alone operation by the facsimile control section, while the main body control section has stopped operating, to the main body control section becomes a data transfer between file systems managed by different OS, and the control becomes complex for obtaining matching between different OS. In addition, since memory for storing the received data is provided on both sides, there is a problem of increased cost.
The present invention is intended to solve the above problems, and the object of the present invention is to provide information processing apparatuses and file controllers that, although the interface between control sections related to the management of the common memory is simple, permit one control section to independently access, the common memory while the other control section has stopped operating, and also, that permit managing the data in the common memory as files.